Connecting you with Australian culture online
Australian weather and the seasons European discovery and the colonisation of Australia Great Barrier Reef The Australian Gold Rush Australian Indigenous cultural heritage Melbourne Cup Convicts and the British colonies in Australia Australian food and drink Sydney Opera House The Great Depression
Kakadu National Park covers an area of 19,804 square kilometres within the Alligator Rivers region of the Northern Territory. Around 50 per cent of the land in Kakadu National Park is Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) ...
Blue Lake, Kosciuszko National Park. Australia has over 500 national parks. Most of our national parks are managed by the States and Territories of Australia; however the Commonwealth of Australia manages six national parks and a further 13 marine parks...
Australia is a unique and diverse country in every way - in culture, population, climate, geography, and history. For articles on specific topics about Australian history and culture visit our Australian Stories Index. Australia's population is concentrat...
Cable Beach, Broome, north-west Kimberley Coast, Western Australia. Most of Australia's population lives close to the coastline and the beach has long occupied a special place in the Australian identity. Based on this definition, the Coastal Studies Uni...
As elsewhere in Australia, European settlement disrupted Aboriginal patterns of land use and movement across the country, and many Aborigines died from European-brought diseases like influenza, smallpox and tuberculosis. The Griffins, Walter Burley and Ma...
Observations of Australia's unique fauna and flora, combined with considerations of the continent's geographical isolation, contributed toward Charles Darwin (1809–1882) developing his theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin's theory of ev...
Easter commemorates the resurrection (return to life) of Jesus Christ following his death by crucifixion. Easter eggs are traditionally eaten on Easter Sunday, however stores start stocking Easter treats well before the Easter holiday period. Early on Ea...
Almost all of Australia's native mammals are marsupials. There are only two types of monotreme in the world - the platypus and the echidna - and both of them are found in Australia. Platypuses are found all along the eastern coast of Australia, from Tas...
One of Australia's greatest treasures is her flora - a staggering 24,000 species of native plants have been identified compared to England's 1700 native plants. Australia's native plants vary across the many different natural environments of the country....
This includes Pleistocene era Aboriginal body fossils, many of which were removed and sent overseas. The Riversleigh fossil site, near Mount Isa Queensland, is recognised as one of the most important fossil sites in the world. The Riversleigh and Narrac...
The gold rushes of the nineteenth century and the lives of those who worked the goldfields - the 'diggers' - are etched into our national folklore. There is no doubt that the gold rushes had a huge effect on the Australian economy and our development as a...
Ernest Revell, Three Sisters, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, c. In March 1812, the Colonial Surveyor George William Evans was sent to explore Jervis Bay, to determine a possible inland route back to Port Jackson. Other explorers, such as Hume and Hove...
Eventually, the arrival of people from diverse societies created a cultural diversity that is now an integral part of Australian society and identity. Image courtesy of the Migration Museum, History Trust of South Australia. Migration Museum, History Trus...
Traditional Indigenous architecture was domestic - across a range of well crafted and technologically designed shelters and residential camps. Courtesy of Queensland Museum and Aboriginal Environments Research Centre. Annual base camp structures, whether...
Bark Painting, Evans Collection, Northern Territory Library. Image courtesy of the Northern Territory Library and the National Library of Australia. Australian Indigenous art is the oldest ongoing tradition of art in the world. ...
UNESCO states that Indigenous populations number some 350 million individuals in more than 70 countries in the world, and that this represents more than 5000 languages and cultures. Today, many Indigenous peoples live on the fringes of society and are de...
It also contains links to sites that may use images of Aboriginal and Islander people now deceased. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are complex and diverse. In Australia, Indigenous communities keep their cultural heritage alive by passin...
World Heritage-listed Fraser Island. However, Australia is actually made up of more than 8,000 islands, including the island state of Tasmania. Norfolk Island is located far off the east coast of Australia. ...
The management, preservation and restoration of lighthouses is now shared variously between the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, State Parks and Wildlife Services, maritime museums, local shires, and volunteers. Cape Byron Lighthouse and Residences,...
Mr Salchany, lighthouse keeper of Neptune Islands signals a passing ship, 1963. In Australia, lighthouses are built in harbours, on islands, coral reefs and beaches. Courtesy of the Australian Heritage Photo Library, Department of Environment, Water Her...
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